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First Look: Bian Dang Offshoot Fun Buns Starts Out Downtown

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the Bian Dang truck that’s been serving up Taiwanese pork chop and fried chicken over rice since 2009 when it was called NYC Cravings. Well, just yesterday I saw on Twitter (are you following us, by the way?) that the truck had launched a cart called Fun Buns selling steamed pork buns, and only steamed pork buns. And then I happened upon the cart at the corner of Broad & Stone St. as I was looking for lunch! I took that as a sign that I should have pork buns for lunch, and it turns out they’re getting their sea legs in the Financial District.

I chatted with the three guys working at the cart and it sounds like they’re going to try to park in the Financial District for a few weeks, but if you guys don’t eat there they’re going to “go where the money is.” Also, apparently security or whoever in the building the cart was parked in front of was hassling them, so it’s likely they’ll be in a different spot on Wednesday.

But how were the buns? I ordered two ($3 each) and there’s also the option to get three plus a drink for $10. Inside the bao were a few pieces of pork belly, crushed peanut that tasted like the honey roasted kind, some pickled greens and cilantro. They were both salty and sweet and I had no problem devouring both, although I would definitely recommend getting three if you’re really hungry.

You can find the cart on Twitter, although it sounds like they’re not tweeting their location just yet, so you’re going to have to go on a little treasure hunt if you want some bao. If you spot the black cart on a sidewalk near you, let us all know where they are in the comments!